Cryogenic Engineering

cryogenic engineering [‚krī·ə′jen·ik en·jə′nir·iŋ]

(engineering)

A branch of engineering specializing in technical operations at very low temperatures (about 200 to 400°R, or -160 to -50°C).

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Cryogenic Engineering 

the technology of the creation and use of cryogenic temperatures (below 120°K).

Among the main problems dealt with by cryogenic engineering are liquefaction of gases (nitrogen, oxygen, helium, and so on) and their storage and transportation in liquid form; separation of gaseous mixtures and isotopes by low-temperature methods (for example, industrial production of pure nitrogen, oxygen, and argon from air; liberation of deuterium by rectification of liquid hydrogen); construction of cryorefrigerators, which produce and maintain temperatures below 120°K; cooling and thermostating of superconductor and electrical-engineering devices (magnets, solenoids, transformers, electrical machines and cables, computer units, and gyroscopes), electronic devices (quantum mechanical amplifiers and generators; infrared detectors), and biological substances at cryogenic temperatures; and development of apparatus and equipment for performing scientific experiments at cryogenic temperatures (cryostats and bubble chambers).

The use of cryogenic temperatures in several fields of science and technology led to the appearance of independent specialties in cryogenic engineering—for example, cryoelectronics and cryobiology.

REFERENCES

Fastovskii, V. G., Iu. V. Petrovskii, and A. E. Rovinskii. Kriogennaia tekhnika, Moscow, 1967.
Spravochnik po fiziko-tekhnicheskim osnovam kriogeniki, 2nd ed. Moscow, 1973.